| 12/18/2007 9:19:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Grainery is about cultivating faith not, crunching numbers
By Jennifer Dempsey - Special to The Mail
For Janet Burkhart, fund-raising for The Grainery is more about cultivating her faith than crunching numbers.
As Burkhart prepared to order 300 turkeys for the food bank annual Thanksgiving distribution drive, she noticed prices had increased.
"As fund-raising chairwoman, I was worrying about how we were going to get enough for the families," she said, "but it all came in. I shouldn't worry. It's God's ministry. He's in charge. We're just out here administrating.
"It's a wonderful ministry. With so many (charities) you never see what they do, but with this you can see the families we are helping - the needy in our community. It's rewarding that way."
Established in 1996, the Grainery is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization at 1348 E St., Salida. Every Friday, volunteers distribute a minimum of 100 food boxes to families in Chaffee, Fremont and Saguache counties. Families submit a form to receive food, but the Grainery turns no one away, Burkhart said.
"We don't refuse anybody," she explained. "Some people might make more money than welfare gives, but they may have had something big happen - something tragic - and they may have hospital bills. We don't mind giving food to anybody who needs it."
Most of the food is donated from food banks in Denver, but the Grainery also receives many local contributions.
"Most donations locally come in as cash," president Sheri Talbert, explained, "but local churches and individuals also bring food. We give away whatever comes in our door. This time of year we get a lot of squash."
Picking up a food order is the task of volunteer and Grainery vice president Dave McNabb. The owner of Valley Home Furnishings in Salida, McNabb makes a trip to Denver once a week to load up his truck. On the way home, he calls the other volunteers to help him unload goods, she said.
"We have a great group of volunteers," Talbert said. "There are a dozen or so who are there whenever called upon ... and another half dozen who are there whenever they can get there. Some people come in for food and when they realize what kind of organization we have they stick around and help us."
Don McGill began volunteering for the Grainery seven years ago and said, "I like to give. People have always been very kind to us."
Co-director Sharon Surdez said, "Our volunteers are from all different walks or life and different churches. They come in the door and say, 'I'm here to help!' It's an amazing thing, all of these people from all denominations working together as the body of Christ. It's pretty neat."
The Grainery volunteers got a test of faith this past Thanksgiving when an order for 150 turkeys got canceled by mistake.
"We placed an order for 150 turkeys one week and 150 for the next week," Burkhart explained. When the volunteers went to pick up the order the second week, they discovered the order was canceled.
"The warehouse in Cheyenne cancelled it thinking it was a duplicate," she said. "So we were all trying to figure out how to get these turkeys. We were all thinking 'what are we going to do?"
After much worrying and many phone calls to other stores and distributors, Salida Wal-Mart gave turkeys to make up the bulk of the deficit.
"They gave us Butterballs, turkey breasts, real nice ones," she said.
They remained 30 turkeys short. Burkhart was trying to figure out how to get more when people from the community started bringing in turkeys.
"This is how you know God works," she said. "First Colorado Land and United Country real estate companies brought us seven turkeys. Other people that day would bring in turkeys and 10 minutes later, it would be out the door to a family.
"It reminded me of the story in the Bible of the fishes and the loaves - how they multiplied. God knows what He is doing. I shouldn't worry. It's His ministry. We're just out there administrating it. He's in charge."
It will be several months before Burkhart will begin canvassing for the next big Grainery food drive at Easter, but she said they are always looking for support.
"I don't know if people realize, but it's not just food for which we need money. We need to pay for electricity for the freezers, the heat, the rent," she said. "But (High Country Bank (people) have just been wonderful.
"If we're low on money, they allow us to pay interest only. It's great how the bank is so good to us. If people have extra cash and just because it's not Thanksgiving or Easter, they can help out."
More information about the Grainery is available at 530-9030.
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